IPL 2018: RCB fan favourite AB De Villiers sends out a message

“E sala Cup Namade” roar the fans of Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB is one of the most followed franchises in the IPL. Players like Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers have become fan favorites as the team’s fortunes rely heavily on the performance of these two individuals. The team has enjoyed limited success in the tournament as they have failed to lift the title even once.

RCB is one the teams that always look strong on paper. For the 11th edition of the IPL, RCB has invested heavily on improving their bowling artillery as over the years their bowlers have let the franchise down on a lot of occasions. The team lost quite comfortable to KKR in their opening fixture. The turning point in the game was the back to back wickets of Kohli and De Villiers.

Batting fortress

Ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first home game at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, star batsman AB De Villiers has sent out a message to the Bengaluru franchise’s fans – that they should get ready to roar.

“For RCB in 2018, the M Chinnaswamy stadium must become so much more than just our home stadium in Bengaluru – it must once again become our fortress. I have grown to love the place… the atmosphere, the history and, more than anything, the supporters who fill the grandstands every time RCB take the field,” wrote the 34-year-old, who is RCB’s third-highest run-getter with 2877 from 94 innings, in his column for TOI.

RCB need this win badly to instill confidence in some of the players and get the ball rolling. Nothing less than a win will suffice for them as a win ensures that players remain in the right mindset for the following games and not let the occasion of the big day get to them.

The batting fortress was breached by the visiting teams on six occasions in the last season. “Unfortunately, in the IPL last year, visiting teams began to love the place as well, and too many of them left with the points. We won only one of seven matches at home, losing to MI, RPS, GL, KXIP and KKR with the Sunrisers match being abandoned. We performed poorly. No excuses. It’s true the pitch did play low and slow for much of the season and 130 or 140 often seemed like it could be a winning score on the compact ground which for so long was renowned as the six-hitting capital of the cricketing world,” he added.

Fans are eager to witness some big sixes in the stadium but the teams cannot complain about the conditions and must adapt to it quickly to have a chance of winning the game.

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